Radio cabinet



13, 4 E. J. MONTAGUE 2,293,612

RADIO CABINET Filed June 20, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR wrrmasszs Elwood I moniayue {D ATTORNEY-5 Aug. 18, 1942.

E. J. MONTAGUE RADIO CABINET Filed June 20, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ITNESSES MI- E Zwood' IMonZayue M I 5 TORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RADIO CABINET Elwood J. Montague, Jamaica, N. Y.

Application June 20, 1941, Serial No. 398,892

5 Claims. 250-14) This invention relates to an improved radio cabinet and it is an object of this invention to provide an improved cabinet having both an aquarium and radio receiving set or the like incorporated therein.

A further object is the provision of an improved combined aquarium and radio receiving set in which the receiving set is substantially concealed from view and in which the receiving set is controlled and tuned by improved and novel mechanism.

Among other objects is the provision of an improved radio cabinet of attractive appearance in which the radio receiving set and radio tuning mechanism is substantially concealed from view and which creates the illusion of an aquarium of such a size as to occupy the entire cabinet.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a radio cabinet embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view of the undersurface of the cover of the cabinet and of the adjacent portions of the inside of the cabinet;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through one of the facsimile lighthouses on the line 55 of Figure 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View in the direction of the arrows on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 showing one of the lighting devices used in my invention;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 'l'! of Fig. 3 showing another one of the lighting devices used in connection with my invention; and

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the electrical circuits which may be employed in connection with my invention.

In carrying out my invention I provide a cabinet I preferably composed of a base II, a pair of side or end members l2 which may be of ornamental appearance, as shown, and a rear wall l3 which may be provided with a cut out portion I4 to accommodate the loud speaker of the radio receiving set. The front of the cabinet is recessed and is provided with a cut out or window opening as indicated at l while the top of the cabinet is closed by means of a cover l8 which is hinged to the top of the rear wall of the cabinet as indicated at ll, so that it may be shifted between open and closed position.

Positioned inside of the front portion of the cabinet so as to be exposed through the window opening at the front thereof, is an aquarium in the form of a tank [8 which will accommodate Water. The tank is preferably formed with a transparent front wall I9 made of glass or the like, and a bottom wall which may be made of glass or other material, secured to the front wall and extending upwardly over the outside of the back and side walls. The inside surfaces of the back Wall 2| and of the side walls 22 are lined with mirrors 23 in the manner indicated most clearly in Figs. 3 and '7. It will be seen that the back wall 2| is substantially shorter than the transparent front wall 19, and the side walls 22 are disposed at an angle. The tank is preferably removable.

When water, fish, marine vegetation, shells and the like are placed in the aquarium, the mirrors give an illusion of depth with the result that the aquarium appears to occupy the entire cabinet. However, as a matter of fact, the aquarium tank only occupies a portion of the cabinet and in the rear portion of the cabinet I place the radio receiving set 25 which may be of any desired construction and which is provided with a loud speaker 26 communicating with the aperture [4 at the rear of the cabinet as previously described.

While, as previously stated, the radio receiving set may be of any desired construction, in the illustrated model the radio receiving set is provided with a tuning shaft 21 and a combined volume control and switch shaft 28. The tuning shaft is preferably connected by means of belt or cable 29 extending over guide pulleys 30 and 3|, to a pulley 32 disposed on the inside of the cover of the cabinet and. mounted on the lower end of the hollow rotatable shaft 33 extending upwardly above the cover. The shaft 33 is in the form of a facsimile lighthouse having a transparent head 34 formed at the upper portion thereof with an electric lamp 35 disposed therein and connected in the usual manner to a suitable source of electric current. The tuning and switch shaft 28 is connected by a belt or cable 36 which extends over guide pulleys 31 and 38 to a pulley 39 also disposed inside of the cover of the cabinet and connected to the lower end of a hollow shaft 40 similar to the shaft 33; and also in the form of a facsimile lighthouse having a transparent head 34 with an electric lamp 35 disposed inside thereof. The belts or cables 29 and 36 each may be provided with a short length or portion 4| formed of resilient spring material for taking up slack and maintaining the belts in taut relationship.

Due to the construction just described, it will be seen that the radio receiving set may be turned on or off and may be adjusted to the desired volume by rotating the facsimile lighthouse 45. Similarly, the radio receiving set may be tuned by rotating the facsimile lighthouse 33. Rotating the facsimile lighthouse 40 which controls the volume of the radio receiving set also produces another desirable result. Connected to the lower end of the facsimile lighthouse, adjacent the pulley 39, is another pulley 42 which is connected by belt 23 to a pulley 44 secured to the colored disc 45. The disc 45 is composed of a plurality of segments made of transparent material, each segment being of different color. The disc is pivotally secured to the underside of the cover so that when the shaft 40 is rotated the disc is caused to rotate. Disposed between the cover and the disc is a small compartment 46 of substantially the same size as one of the segments in the disc and positioned in the compartment is an electric lamp 4'! connected in the usual manner to a suitablesource of electric current. When the lamp 4"! is illuminated, it will display a colored light downwardly on the water in the aquarium. It will be seen that when the shaft 40 is rotated to vary the volume of the radio receiving set, the disc 45 is also rotated so asto change the color of the light which is displayed.

The water in the aquarium is also illuminated by indirect light in the form of a pair of lamps 58 positioned in the hollow columns 49 at the two sides of the front of the cabinet. Each of the columns is provided with an aperture 50 adjacent the lamp so that the light will be directed inwardly towards the aquarium. .So as to further conceal the fact that the cabinet contains a radio receiving set, and, to increase the marine illusion, I also preferably provide a model ship mounted on springs 52. on the top of the cover of the cabinet. The ship may be caused to rock, imparting an. illusion of motion, by means of an electric motor 53 provided with a crank 54 which in turn is connected to an arm protruding from the side of the ship. As the crank rotates when the motor is in operation, ,a rocking motion is thereby imparted to the ship. Fne ship may be illuminated by means of a pair of electric lamps 55 positioned in front of the ship and the light" from the lamps is directed on the ship by means of reflectors 55 preferably in the form of facsimile waves as shown most clearly in Fig. 1.

The electricity for the operation of the radio receiving set, the motor, and thev lamps, may be supplied by a pair of leads 51 connected. to plug 58 which is inserted. in socket 59 connected to the side of the cabinet. Current may be led from the socket 59 to the radio. receiving set by means of plug 60 and leads 6| and 62. The electric lamps 35, 41, 48 and 55 and the electric motor 53 may be. connected by leads 63 and 64' to plug 65 which in, turn is connected to socket 59. If desired, switches may be employed in any of the circuits.

In using my device, the aquarium tank and radio receiving set are inserted in the cabinet and the electric lamps, tuning mechanism and model ship are connected in the manner described. Water, fish, marine vegetation, shells and thelike, may be placed in the aquarium and due to the mirrors, an illusion of depth is created.

The device may be illuminated by connecting. the electric circuits, and the radio receiving set.

may be operated in the manner previously described.

It should be understood that modifications may be made in the illustrated and described embodiment of my invention without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. A cabinet of the type described comprising connected walls and formed with a window opening extending for substantially one entire side thereof, and an aquarium tank positioned in the cabinet and having a transparent wall in registry with the window opening, said cabinet being of greater size than the aquarium tank so as to provide a space inside the cabinet in back of the tank for accommodating a radio receiving set. or the like.

2. A cabinet of the type described comprising a plurality of connected walls and formed with a window opening covering a substantial portion of one side thereof, and an aquarium tank p0- sitioned in the cabinet and having a transparent wall extending over the window opening, another wall of said aquarium tank being formed of a mirror facing towards the said transparent wall, the said cabinet being of greater size than the aquarium tank so as to provide a space between one side of the aquarium and the adjacent side of the cabinet for accommodating a radio receiving set or the like.

3. A cabinet of the type described comprising a plurality of connected walls and formed with a window opening covering a substantial portion of one side thereof, and an aquarium tank positioned in the cabinet, said tan-k having a transparent front wall extending over the window opening, a rear wall of lesser width than the front wall, a pair of an-gularly disposed side walls connecting the front and rear walls, and a bottom wall, the inner surfaces of the side and rear walls being lined with mirrors facing towards the front wall so as to impart an illusion of greater size to the tank, and the said cabinet being of greater size than the tank so as to provide a space between one side of the tank and the adjacent side of the cabinet for accommodating a radio receiving set or the like.

4. A cabinet of the type described for housing a radio receiving set having a pair of adjustable control shafts therein comprising a plurality of connected walls formed with a window opening covering a substantial portion of one side thereof and a cover extending over thetop of the walls, an aquarium tank positioned in the cabinet and having a transparent wall extending over the window opening, said cabinet being of greater size than the aquarium tank so as to. provide a space inside the cabinet for accommodating the radio receiving set, a model ship resiliently mounted on top of the cover of the cabinet, means for imparting a rocking motion to the model ship, a pair of facsimile lighthouses mounted on top of the cover. for rotary movement, means for connecting the facsimile lighthouses to the adjustable radio shafts whereby the shafts may be adjusted by rotating the facsimile lighthouses, illuminating means on the inside of the cover for directing light beams of different predetermined colors towards the aquarium tank, and means operatively connecting the illuminating means to one of the facsimile'lighthouses whereby the color of the beam is varied by rotating the said facsimile lighthouse. r

5. A cabinet of the type described for housing a radio receiving set having an adjustable shaft comprising a plurality of connected walls and formed with a window opening covering a substantial portion of one side thereof, said cabinet being formed with a space to accommodate an aquarium tank adjacent the opening and another space to accommodate a radio receiving set, a cover hingedly connected to one of the walls,

5 may be adjusted by rotating the member.

ELWOOD J. MONTAGUE. 

